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You don't necessarily need to live in Manhattan. The apartments in Jersey City and Brooklyn are cheaper than that in Bay area and commute is only about 30 minutes by subway which doesn't get jamed like highway in California.

I had lived in NYC for 3 years. Luxury apartment in Manhattan costs 4k a month. You don't need a car in NY so you save a lot of $ from car maintenance and gas cost. The food costs about the same. So you still get lots of savings after paying rent and everything for 200K salary. There are tons of artists and musicians live in NYC for under 60K a year.